SPACE
Is humanity running out of space or will we find new frontiers?
As populations grow, people have to look for more innovative ways to provide space
Section
A
The world has changed dramatically since Thomas Malthus’s work ‘An Essay on the Principle of
the population’, first published in 1798, argued that by the mid-1800s the unrestricted
expansion of the human population would outgrow the agricultural land available to supply
humanity with food. Over 150 years have passed since this theoretical milestone but mankind,
admittedly somewhat more cramped, is still expanding and will continue to do so.
Section
B
The impact of unfettered population growth is clear for all to see. Urbanization is now a more
evident worldwide phenomenon than previously as even greater numbers of people drift from
rural areas to vast cities all over the world like Tokyo, Mexico City and Mumbai (26.4 million,
18.4 million and 18.1 million inhabitants in 2000 respectively) in their quest for a better life.
These mega-cities, i.e. conurbations with an estimated population of more than 10 million
people, are springing up in every continent. Now teeming with humanity, they are hungry for
one increasingly valuable resource: land.
While developments in agricultural technology ensure humanity may be able, by and large, to
feed the people flocking to these great metropolises, the expansion of the human race is
fuelling an unprecedented appetite for real estate. Space, whether it be for personal or public
use, corporate or national, human or flora/fauna is now at a premium as we move into a new
century. Not only is more land required for accommodation, but also for a wide range of
infrastructure facilities. Transport systems including roads within and between cities need to be
constructed or upgraded to create motorways; green fields are turned into airports; the virgin
forest is stripped to provide food and firewood. In poorer regions, this newly exposed land
becomes desert completing the cycle of destruction.
Section
C
Hitherto, the most common practice for the utilization of expensive space for living and working
has been to build upwards; hence, the demand for ever higher buildings, both apartment and
commercial, in major cities like New York, Shanghai and Singapore all vying with each other for
the tallest buildings. There has also been a tradition for building underground, not just for
transport systems, but for the storage of waste, depositories for books etc. as in London, where
The British Library housing millions of books has been built largely underground.
Recent years have seen more novel construction developments around the world. In the past,
in many countries, Holland and the UK included, marshes and floodplains have been reclaimed
from the sea. Like the city of Venice in Italy, housing complexes and even airports have now
been constructed off-shore to amazing effect. In Japan, Kansai International Airport has been
built off-shore on a man-made island at vast expense and in Dubai, a very imaginative and
expensive housing complex in the shape of a palm tree is being built just off the coast on land
created by a construction company. However, these and other developments are at risk from
rising sea levels as a consequence of global warming.
Section
D
But where will the human race go when planet earth is full? There have been many theories put
forward about the human population moving to outer space. Marshall Savage (1992, 1994), for
example, has projected that the human population will reach five quintillions throughout the
solar system by the year 3000, with the majority living in the asteroid belt. Arthur C Clarke, a
fervent supporter of Savage, now argues that by the year 2057 there will be humans on the
Moon, Mars, Europa, Ganymede, Titan, and in orbit around Venus, Neptune and Pluto. Feeman
Dyson (1999) favors the Kuiper belt as the future home of humanity, suggesting this could
happen within a few centuries.
Section
E
Habitation in outer space in huge stations is no longer just a dream, but a reality. A permanent
international space station now orbits the earth. The first commercial tourist recently went into
outer space with more trips planned for the near future. This is only the beginning, but the
development of space hotels is not far-off. There is no knowing where mankind may end up.
But the ideas about off-world habitation are not fanciful and I am sure I am not alone in
fantasizing about summer holidays spent watching the moons rising in some far-flung planet
or on a floating hotel somewhere on the Andromeda nebula.
Questions IELTSDATA READING PASSAGE 62SPACE
Questions
1-4
Reading passage 1 has five sections A-E. Choose the correct heading for sections B-E from the list
of headings below.
List
of
Headings
i. How the problem of land scarcity has been overcome in the past
ii.
Various
predictions
about
future
solutions
to
a
lack
of
space
iii.
The
effects
of
population
growth
on
land
availability
iv.
The
importance
of
the
new
British
Library
v.
An
expanding
population
vi.
A
description
of
a
mega-city
vii.
A
firm
belief
that
human
habitation
of
outer
space
will
occur
viii. The importance of having an international space station
Example
Answer
Section
A
v
1.
Section
B
2.
Section
C
3.
Section
D
4. Section E
Questions
5-8
Complete the sentences below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each
answer.
5.
The
movement
of
rural
people
to
cities
is
a………………………..
6. The land is now very………………………, as a result of the growing demand for space.
7. The feeding of the human race will perhaps be guaranteed by changes in………………….
8. Besides the demands of accommodation, the land is needed for various…………….
Questions
9-13
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage? In boxes 913
on
your
answer
sheet
write
YES
if
the
statement
reflects
the
claims
of
the
writer
NO,
if
the
statement
contradicts
the
claims
of
the
writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
9. The destruction of land for food and firewood is linked to desertification.
10. Shortage of space has also led to underground building construction.
11. The building of the airport in Japan costs much more than that of the housing complex in
Dubai.
12. Arthur C Clarke was the only person to predict that mankind will inhabit other parts of the
solar
system.
13. The concept of the habitation of outer space by mankind is unimaginable.
IELTS Reading Passage - The History of Salt
You should complete this test in 20 minutes. After completing the test, you can review your attempt with The
History of Salt Reading Answers with explanation.
The History of Salt
We practically take salt for granted since it is so straightforward and common. One of the most fundamental
compounds on earth, salt is made up of two ions, sodium, and chloride, according to chemical theory.
Furthermore, it is one of the most abundant: it has been calculated that the salt reserves beneath the state of
Kansas alone could provide all of the world's demands for the next 250,000 years.
However, salt is also a crucial component. Without it, life would be impossible since the human body needs the
mineral to operate correctly. The concentration of sodium ions in the blood is directly connected to the
maintenance of normal body fluid levels. We are all aware of the various applications for this element in
cooking, but we may not be aware of its 14,000 commercial uses for it. Salt plays an important role in our
everyday lives, from the production of pulp and paper to the set of colors in fabrics, from the production of
soaps and detergents to the safety of our roads in the winter.
Throughout history, salt has played a significant and enduring role. It has played a significant role in the
development of social, political, religious, and economic systems since the birth of civilization. It has inspired
mythology, superstition, and even acts of violence all throughout the globe. It has even been used as money.
Salt has always been a vital component of economies since it is a valuable and transportable resource. In fact,
the natural surface salt deposits observed there led scholar M.R. Bloch to hypothesize that civilization first
emerged around the margins of the desert. Bloch also suggested that the first conflict, which took place near
the ancient city of Assault on the Jordan River, may have been fought over the city's valuable deposits of the
mineral.
One of the earliest taxes recorded was enforced by the Chinese monarch Hsia Yu in 2200 BC. He assessed salt.
Small salt cakes imprinted with the Grand Khan were used as currency in Tibet, according to Marco Polo, and
the Danakil Plains nomads of Ethiopia still use them today. Greek slave dealers often exchanged it for slaves,
giving origin to the phrase "not worth his salt" when referring to someone. A solarium, the Latin word for
"salary," was the currency used to pay Roman legionnaires.
This mineral was valued equally to books and gold by merchants in Timbuktu, the center of learning and the
entrance to the Sahara Desert, in the 12th century. In order to pay for his acquisition of the Kingdom of Naples,
Charles of Anjou imposed the "gabelle," a salt tax, on France in 1259. The French Revolution was sparked by
outrage about the gabelle. Although the tax was abolished by the revolutionaries soon after Louis XVI, the
gabelle was reinstated by the Republic of France at the beginning of the 19th century, and it was only officially
abolished in 1946.
The Erie Canal, which opened in 1825 and linked the Great Lakes to New York's Hudson River, was dubbed "the
ditch that salt built." Half of the cost of building the canal was covered by salt tax income. A thriving illicit
market for white crystal resulted from the British monarchy's use of hefty salt taxes to fund its own existence.
The Earl of Dundonald reported in 1785 that 10,000 people were detained for salt smuggling in England each
year. Mahatma Gandhi also conducted a 200-mile march to the Arabian Ocean in 1930 as part of a protest
against British rule to gather untaxed salt for India's underprivileged.
Greek worshipers consecrated salt in ancient rites, giving it a significant role in both religion and society. It is
also traditional to toss salt over your shoulder before entering your home after burial because, according to
Buddhist tradition, doing so frightens away any bad spirits that could be clinging to your back. It is also used to
cleanse a region in the Shinto faith. A handful is tossed into the middle of the ring before the sumo wrestlers
enter for the bout, which is really a complex Shinto ritual, to ward off evil spirits.
The Pueblo people of the American Southwest revere the Salt Mother. Other aboriginal groups had stringent
limitations on who might consume salt. According to Hopi folklore, the furious Warrior Twins punished
humanity by locating lucrative salt mines far from civilization, requiring hard effort and courage to extract the
valuable mineral. The Dalai Lama was buried sitting up on a bed of salt in 1933. Today, a gift of salt is still
considered a powerful sign of good luck and a nod to Mahatma Gandhi's independence of India.
During times of conflict, when human bodies and national economies are taxed to their maximum, the impacts
of salt deprivation are accentuated. Thousands of Napoleon's men perished during the French retreat from
Moscow as a consequence of poor wound healing and illness resistance caused by salt deprivation.
The History of Salt IELTS Reading questions
Question 1–3
Choose three letters from A-H.
Which THREE statements are true about salt?
A. A number of cities take their names from the word salt.
B. Salt contributed to the French Revolution.
C. The uses of salt are countless.
D. Salt has been produced in China for less than 2000 years.
E. There are many commercial applications for salt.
F. Salt deposits in the state of Kansas are vast.
G. Salt has few industrial uses nowadays.
H. Slaves used salt as a currency.
Do more practice in the IELTS reading matching features question type to create smoothness in this question
type.
Question 4–8
Complete the summary.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 17-21 on
your answer sheet.
Salt is such a 4…………………….that people would not be able to live without it. As well as its uses in cooking, this
basic mineral has thousands of businesses 5…………………….ranging from making paper to the manufacture of
soap. Being a prize and 6…………………………., it has played a major part in the economies of many countries. As
such, salt has not only led to war but has also been used to raise 7……………………by governments in many parts
of the world. There are also many instances of its place in religion and culture, being used as a means to get rid
of evil 8……………………..
Practice IELTS reading summary completion for a better understanding of this question type.
Question 9–14
Do the following statements agree with the information in the Reading Passage?
TRUE
if the statement agrees with the information.
FALSE
if the statement contradicts the information.
NOT GIVEN if there is no information about the statement.
9. It has been suggested that salt was responsible for the first war.
10. The first tax on salt was imposed by a Chinese emperor.
11. Salt is no longer used as a form of currency.
12. Most of the money for the construction of the Erie Canal came from salt taxes.
13. Hopi legend believes that salt deposits were placed far away from civilization to penalize mankind.
14. A lack of salt is connected with the deaths of many of Napoleon’s soldiers during the French retreat from
Moscow.